As a result of the WiSAKI project's unique victim-centered approach, not all of the previously unsubmitted sexual assault kits (SAKs) are currently designated to be tested. The following is a representation of the SAKs inventoried as part of the SAKI project that are not currently designated to be submitted to the Wisconsin State Crime Laboratory (WSCL) for DNA testing. The below information summarizes the reasons these kits are not currently designated for testing. The kits designated for testing may change over the course of the project. For a more detailed account of how these determinations were made, please see the Inventory Methodology Overview.
These interactive dashboards can be filtered by the year the SAK came into the agency's possession or by county.
Data Notes: Below are further details on how each of the categories are defined and/or what the categories include.
*Until all of the SAKs have been received and verified by the WSCL, these numbers are still subject to change (last updated 4/7/2021).
Already have convictions related to the incident: These SAKs are from sexual assault incidents where an offender(s) has already been convicted for that incident. Testing these SAKs will likely not have any probative value. To comply with grant requirements, a random sample of the SAKs that fall within this category will be tested.
Forensic exam conducted as part of autopsy-no sexual assault suspected: These SAKs were collected during the course of a death investigation by a local law enforcement agency as a matter of protocol. In these instances, the law enforcement agency did not suspect a sexual assault occurred.
Non-assaultive juveniles: These SAKs were collected after a report from a 3rd party (usually a parent or guardian) stated that his or her minor child had been engaging in sexual relations with another minor. In these instances, neither minor child ever claimed to have been sexually assaulted by the other, but rather claimed to be in a “consenting” relationship. In these cases neither child was over 17 years old or under 14 years old. Note, Wisconsin Statute does not allow for persons under the age of 18 to consent to sexual contact of any kind.
Not chargeable as a sexual assault due to the suspect’s age: These SAKs were collected from minor victims where the named suspect(s) were under the age of 12.
Report Unavailable: The reports associated with these SAKs were not available at the time the inventory was conducted and therefore the kit could not be tested and uploaded to CODIS without documentation that a crime had been committed. The most common occurrence of this was the result of a law enforcement agency updating or changing their records management system, making reports on the old system inaccessible. In other instances, law enforcement agencies had records retention policies that would only hold onto records for a set period of time. After that period expired, the records would be purged. There were a few other instances where fire or water damage made paper reports inaccessible.
Suspect acquitted or found not guilty: These SAKs relate to incidents where the named suspect was either acquitted or found not guilty at trial. The accreditation standards that govern the WSCL will not allow for these SAKs to be tested.
Suspect SAK: These SAKs are collected evidence from the suspect. Often these kits accompanied a victim SAKs. At the present time, these are not designated for testing as they are excluded from what the grants allow. Should a corresponding victim SAK not identify probative evidence, a suspect SAK might later be tested on a case-by-case basis.
Unfounded: In these instances, the evidence and facts obtained during the investigation are inconsistent with the initial report of the sexual assault, and there is credible, corroborating evidence that proves that a crime did not occur (working definition for SAKI project).
Victim did not consent to testing: These SAKs fall into several different scenarios, all involving the victim not consenting to having the SAK tested. In some instances the victim never reported the sexual assault to law enforcement. These are considered Jane/John Doe or anonymous kits. In other instances, the victim may have initially reported the sexual assault to law enforcement, but then later decided they did not want to pursue the incident and withheld consent to test. In keeping with the victim-centered approach of this project, these are currently not designated for testing, however should a victim at a later date give consent for testing by either filing a police report or re-engaging with the criminal justice system, these SAKs will be tested.